LAUSR

Gender-targeted police reforms are frequently proposed to tackle the global problem of rising yet under-reported gender-based violence (GBV)—but with mixed and often disappointing results. We explore this issue in India, a country with alarming rates of GBV and limited police capacity, by studying the impact of Women’s Help Desks (WHDs): dedicated spaces for women in local police stations, staffed by trained officers. Drawing on the largest randomized controlled trial of a police reform to date (180 police stations serving 23.4 million people), we find that officers in stations with WHDs are more likely to register cases of GBV, particularly where female officers run the desks. This suggests that even in resource-constrained and patriarchal environments, police responsiveness can be improved by focusing and mainstreaming attention to women’s cases and by greater gender representation within the police. Description Tools to improve police responsiveness Violence against women is a problem of global concern, and inadequate police responsiveness in many settings is a factor in its persistence. Sukhtankar et al. undertook a randomized controlled trial of police reform measures in India that was designed to improve reporting rates of incidences of violence against women in a context where such violence is widespread and where getting the police to take action has been historically difficult (see the Perspective by Blair and Jassal). The authors found that the intervention, which was composed of training, outreach, and the assignment of female officers across 180 police stations, significantly increased police registration of cases of violence against women. These findings carry policy implications for efforts to improve police responsiveness to abused women more widely. —AMS Police officers in stations with dedicated women’s help desks are more likely to register cases of gender-based violence.